Plastic snap-on closure for spice cans and the like



Dec. 10, 1957 E. FRANK 2,815,893

PLASTIC SNAP-0N CLOSURE FOR SPICE CANS AND THE LIKE Filed NOV. 18, 1955v Q ENTOR.

' ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office 2,315,893 Patented Dec. 10, 1957 PLASTICSNAP-N CLOSURE FOR SPICE CANS AND THE LIKE Emil Frank, Cincinnati, Ohio,assignor to The Frank Tea & Spice Company, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application November 18, 1955, Serial No. 547,643 1Claim. (Cl. 222-480) This invention relates to closures and isparticularly directedto a plastic snap-on lid for a metal spice can.

At the present time large quantities of spices intended for homeconsumption are packaged in small metal cans. These cans are usuallyprovided with an apertured top panel and a slidable plate mounted overthe top panel. The slidable plate is provided with a series of aperturesadapted to be brought into registry with a single large opening in thetop panel to permit spices to be sifted from the can. The apertures inthe plate cover only a limited area of that member so that when theplate is shifted to a second position the apertures are moved fromregistry with the opening in the main top panel and the solid portion ofthe slidable plate is effective to seal off the top of the can.

Spice cans of this type are unsatisfactory for several reasons, the mostimportant of which is that such cans do not provide an air tight closurefor the spices con-. tained. It will readily be appreciated that spicesare relatively unique among packaged food items, since spices areusually not consumed at once, but rather are used gradually over aperiod of many months or even years. In presently availablecans, spicesare not adequately sealed, and often lose their flavor and aroma afterrelatively short periods of time.

Another disadvantage of slidable metal tops is that they are difficultto manipulate. The slidable plates and top panels are stamped from sheetmetal and the edges of the parts frequently tend to bind. Also duringuse one of the members often becomes bent so that opening and closingthe lid is made extremely diflicult.

The present invention is predicated on the concept of providing a canhaving a snap-on plastic lid which can readily be snapped into place toprovide an extremely effective seal for the can during periods ofstorage. More particularly in a preferred embodiment, a can is formedhaving an open mouth, surrounded by. a rim, or outwardly extendingrolled bead formed on the upper edge of the can walls. A cooperating lidis formed of a plastic material of relatively limited elasticity such aspolyethylone or the like. The lid is of substantially the same shape asthe mouth of the can and includes an annular top wall extending aroundthe periphery of the lid and a central recessed portion connected to thetop wall by means of an inner wall. The lid is also provided with adepending peripheral flange configurated to form inwardly and outwardlyextending beads disposed at the lower edge of the flange.

When the lid is placed over the top of the can, the rim of the can isreceived within a channel defined by the inner wall and peripheralflange. In a preferred embodiment, this channel is appreciably widerthan the thickness of the rim so that the inner wall of the lid isspaced inwardly from the can walls. These walls are, however, embracedby the outer flange and inner bead ofthe lid, the inner bead snappingunder the rim to hold the lid firmly in place.

In order to remove spices from the can, the lid is removed by pressingupwardly along the bead of the lid to force a portion of the head upover the rim after which the lid is easily lifted completely free fromthe can. Once the lid has been removed, the spices are poured from thecan or withdrawn by means of a spoon. When the housewife has removed allof the spices desired, the lid is again snapped over the top of the canto provide a substantially air tight seal.

One of the principal advantages of the present can and lid constructionis that the lid provides an eifective seal which preserves the fullflavor and aroma of spices throughout long periods of storage.Furthermore, the present lid provides an effective seal even though thetop dimensions of the cans vary over an appreciable range.

With the present lid and can, sealing contact between the rim and lidcan be obtained against any one of three sure faces, e. g, the top wallof the lid, the inner edge of the depending flange, or the inner bead.Consequently a satisfactory seal is secured even when the top dimensionsof a can vary from standard because of variations in the temper of thesheet metal, etc.

Another advantage of this lid is that it is extremely easy to remove andreplace. In the preferred form of lid the inner wall is spaced from thedepending flange a distance appreciably in excess of the thickness ofthe can rim. Consequently when placing the lid on the can, the housewifefirst inserts the rim extending along one wall of the can in thecorresponding channel of the lid. The lid and rim are held in engagementby the cooperation of the beaded flange of the lid and rim, while theremaining portion of the lid is snapped down over the rrm.

In the second form of can and lid constructed in accordance with thepresent invention the upper end of the can is provided with a top panelextending a little over half of the length of the can. The lid, formedof polyethylene or the like, is configurated generally as in theembodiment described above, except that one end of the lid is providedwith a plurality of sifting apertures. A transverse rib is formed alongthe lower surface of the can when the lid is snapped over the. end ofthe can. This particular lid and can construction is particularlyadapted for use with ground spices which are adapted to be sifted fromthe can.

In order to remove the spices from the can the lid is placed over thecan so that the sifting apertures are positioned in registry with theopen area at the end of the top panel of the can and the can is invertedso that spices pass outwardly through the openings. The spices can alsobe removed from the can by lifting the lid completely free and insertinga spoon or the like through the opening provided in the top panel. Toseal off the can to prepare it for storage after the spices have beenremoved, the lid is turned degrees relative to its former position andit is again snapped over the end of the can. In this position the solidportion of the lid covers the top opening in the can and the transverserib is pressed against the top panel so that a substantially air tightseal is provided.

This latter form of lid is advantageous in that it not only provides agood seal but also because it provides; readily adjustable rneans forsifting the spices or'remov ing them with a spoon as desired.Furthermore, the removal of spices by means of a spoon is greatlyfacilitated since approximately half the can top is open in contrastinvention. will be more readily apparent from a further consideration,of the following detailed description of the drawings illu strating twopreferred embodiments "broken away to show details of construction.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken through the canand lid of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second form of lid constructed inaccordance with the present invention, the lid and can being partiallybroken away to show details of construction.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the can and lid shownin Figure 3.

One form of spice can adapted to receive a lid 11 of the presentinvention is shown in Figure 1. As there shown, can 10 is for-med from asingle sheet of metal which is bent into shape, the two ends of thesheet being joined at a longitudinal seam 12 formed in an end wall ofthe container. The bottom wall of the can is joined to the side and endwalls by over-turning peripheral portions of the bottom panel and thelower edge of the side and end walls to form a lower bead as at 13. Theupper edges of the side walls 14 and end walls 15 is also rolled alongthe outer surface of the walls to form an upper head 16 extending aroundthe top rim of the can. The can shown in Figure 1 is particularlyadapted to contain whole spices, such as cloves, which are removed fromthe can by means of a spoon or by pouring. To facilitate the removal ofsuch spices, the entire upper end of the can is open; that is the metalcan does not include any form of top panel which is permanently securedto the side walls.

In accordance with the present invention the spice can is provided witha removable plastic lid 11 adapted to be placed over the open end of thecan for providing a substantially airtight seal during periods ofstorage. Such a lid is effective to preserve the full flavor and aromaof the spices contained in the can until the spices are removed for use.As explained below, however, the lid can readily be removed by thehousewife whenever she desires to remove spices from the can and a spooncan be inserted through the open end of the can to withdraw a measuredamount of spices; or alternatively after the lid has been removed thespices can be poured from the can into another receptacle.

More particularly lid 11 is formed of a plastic material of relativelylimited elasticity. One particularly advantageous form of plastic ispolyethylene which in addition to having the desired mechanicalproperties is relatively inert chemically. It will be appreciated ofcourse that other plastics such as polystyrene or one of thepolyvinylchloride compounds could be used in place of polyethylene ifdesired. Lid 11 is configurated to form a top wall 17 which extends in arelatively narrow strip around the periphery of the lid. A centralrecessed portion 18 is formed in lid 11 and is connected to top wall 17by means of inner wall 20. It will be noted that when lid 11 is mountedon the end of can 10, inner wall 20 is spaced an appreciable distancefrom side and end walls 14 and 15 of the can. The outer periphery of lid11 is provided with a depending flange 21. The lower end of thisflangecarries both inwardly and outwardly extending beads 22 and 23 sothat the flange in cross section is substantially in the shape of aninverted T. When the lid is fitted over the can as shown in Figures 1and 2, the side and end walls of the can and rim 16 are received withinchannel 24 formed between inner wall 20 and flange 21. A sealing contactbetween the lid and can is established between rim 16 of the can and theadjacent surfaces of top Wall 17, and flange 21.

In order to remove lid 11 from the can to withdraw the spices, thehousewife places a finger under outer bead 23 and, presses upwardly,disengaging a portion of inner bead 22 from rim 16. Thereafter theentire lid can be lifted free from the can. When the lid is removed thedepressed panel 18, walls 20, flange 21 and beads 22 and 23 all functionas stiffening members so that lid 11 remains relatively rigid. After thespices have been removed and the housewife desires to return the lid tothe can she preferably slips a side wall of the can within acorresponding portion of channel 24 formed in the lid until inner bead22 engages the under portion of rim 16. The cooperation of these membersis eflective to hold the lid in engagement with the can while the freeend of the lid is pivoted downwardly into its closed position shown inFigure 1.

Figures 3 and 4 show a modified form of lid 25 which is adapted tofunction both as a sifting lid and as a sealing cap for a can containingground spices such as pepper. Can 26 shown in Figure 3 is identical,with can 10 shown in Figure 1 except that the upper portion of can 26 isprovided with a top metal panel 27 which extends from one end of the canslightly more than half way to the opposite end. This panel 27 issecured in place by rolling its edges over the upper bead 28 formedalong the upper edge of the walls of the can. An opening 30 extends fromthe transverse edge 31 of top panel 27 to the opposite end Wall of thecan 26; this opening is preferably large enough to permit the insertionof a spoon or other measuring device into the spice can.

Lid 25 like lid 11 of the first embodiment described, is formed from aplastic of relatively limited elasticity such as polyethylene or thelike. Lid 25 is configurated to form a top wall 32 extending around themarginal area of lid 25. The lid also includes a central recessedportion 33 which is connected to top wall 32 by means of an inner wall34.

One end of recessed portion 33 is provided with a plurality of smallapertures 35 adapted to permit the passage of a small amount of groundspice from the interior of the can through the lid. The under surface ofrecessed panel 33 carries a transverse rib 36 which extends laterally ofthe lid along a line substantially halfway between the ends of the lid.The length of rib 36 is such that it preferably extends complctelyacross top panel 27 of the can and is disposed in engagement with thatpanel when the lid is snapped over rim 28.

Lid 25 also includes a depending flange 37 extending along the peripheryof the lid; and as in the previous embodiment, this flange isconfigurated to form an inwardly extending head 38 adapted to embracerim 28 and an outwardly extending stiffening bead 40.

When the lid is placed over the top of the can, as shown in Figures 3and 4, the side and end walls of the can and rim 28 are disposed withina channel 41 defined by inner Wall 34 and flange 37. With the lid in thesifting position shown in these figures, apertures 35 are in registrywith opening 30 so that when the can is inverted spices can be siftedfrom the can through the apertures. It will be noted that with the lidin this position, rib 36 is in engagement with panel 27 and is effectiveto prevent ground spices from accummulating between the panel and undersurface of the lid.

If it is desired to withdraw a large quantity of the spice, lid 25 isremoved by pressing upwardly on outer bead 40 to disengage bead 38 fromrim 28 as in the previous embodiment. After the lid has been removed aspoon or other measuring device can be inserted through opening 30 towithdraw spices from the can.

When the required amount of spices have been withdrawn from the caneither by sifting or by means of a spoon, the can can be sealed byreplacing lid 25 on the can in a position turned degrees from theposition shown in Figures 3 and 4; so that the solid end of recessedportion 33 is in registry with opening 30 and apertures 35 are disposedover panel 27. With the lid in this position rib 36 resides inengagement with top panel 27 of the can so that the can is sealed by theengagement of the rib and panel, and the engagement of rim 28 and outerflange 40.

Having described my invention, I claim:

A spice can and lid adapted to seal the top of said can, said can havingside walls and end walls, the upper edge of said walls being rolledoutwardly to form a rim defining a generally rectangular top opening, atop panel extending across the top panel from one end wall slightly overone half the distance to the opposite end wall, a lid adapted to sealsaid lid, said lid being formed of polyethylene or a plastic materialhaving similar properties and comprising an annular top wall ofsubstantially the same outline con 10 figuration as the can top, adepressed central portion disposed within said annular wall, one end ofsaid central portion being provided with a plurality of small apertures,inner walls connecting the depressed central portion and the top annularwall, a rib formed on the undersurface of 15 6 said central portion andextending transversely of said lid at substantially the center thereof,a depending peripheral flange joined to the top Wall at the peripherythereof, said depending flange being configurated to form an inwardlyextending bead disposed at the lower end of said flange and beingadapted to engage the can rim.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS961,991 Ullrich June 21, 1910 2,580,762 Grenier et al. Jan. 1, 19522,625,306 Murphy Jan. 13, 1953 2,695,732 Tupper Nov. 30, 1954 2,748,976Magnesen June 5, 1956

